Mayor drops Fair Grove lawsuit

Though reason for dismissal after impeachment vote is unclear, motions indicate settlement reached

Oct. 3, 2013

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The Fair Grove mayor has dismissed a lawsuit against the city, which was filed after aldermen voted to impeach him.

Papers in the case indicate that the mayor and aldermen have negotiated to end the case. Whether that means the impeachment attempt has also died is unclear; attempts to reach the mayor and aldermen by phone and email on Thursday were unsuccessful.

The case was dismissed Sept. 27, a day after Mayor Tim Smith filed the motion.

The reason for the dismissal is not detailed, but previous motions filed by aldermen indicate the parties were nearing a settlement.

An attorney representing the city and its aldermen requested a stay of all proceedings in the case on Sept. 16.

In that document, aldermen asked for an extension of time “due to ongoing settlement discussions.”

It also says, “plaintiff and defendants have now reached a settlement agreement and are in the process of finalizing the same.”

The document says Smith’s attorney consented to the motion for extension.

The lawsuit was filed in June, on Smith’s behalf.

The lawsuit alleged that board members met privately, in violation of Missouri open records law, and failed to give Smith any notice of charges against him before making a motion and subsequently voting to impeach him at the May 28 meeting.

“The Board’s action constitutes egregious violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law Act and of Mayor Smith’s right to due process of law,” the petition states.

A docket entry in the case indicates the case will be reviewed by the judge on Nov. 5.

The dismissal of the lawsuit isn’t the only loose end tied up recently in Fair Grove.

This year, the city missed a deadline to pass a budget, fired its police chief and had the Greene County sheriff review the police department.

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott presented the results of the assessment Aug. 27. The same night, the city promoted Sgt. Adam Mallory to acting police chief. A week later, the city adopted a budget, which included raises for police officers.

With the lawsuit dropped, the city can move forward with finding an attorney. John Housley, whose contract was not renewed the same night that former police chief Shawn Eakins was let go, has been serving as city attorney until a replacement is hired, according to meeting minutes.

The city sought and received proposals for a new attorney, but aldermen voted Sept. 24 to wait on awarding a bid until the lawsuit was settled.